Originally posted by corsair:
Victory for Diddly Squat? Rishi Sunak vows to free farmers from planning red tape when converting barns to farm shops (after Jeremy Clarkson's huge rows with his local council) as PM welcomes TV star Kaleb Cooper to No10 quote:
Rishi Sunak today vowed to slash red tape for farmers looking to turn old barns into shops as he welcomed Clarkson's Farm star Kaleb Cooper to Downing Street.
The Prime Minister set out plans to make it easier for British farmers to diversify their incomes, such as through setting up farm shops on their land.
Under the Government's proposals, farmers would no longer need to seek permission from local councils to repurpose farm buildings.
The move comes after the much-publicised travails of Jeremy Clarkson, documented in the Amazon Prime show Clarkson's Farm, to turn a profit on his Diddly Squat Farm.
The series has revealed the ex-Top Gear host's many planning battles over his Diddly Squat Farm Shop, as well as his bid to set up a restaurant on his Oxfordshire farm.
Two of the show's stars - Cooper and 'Cheerful' Charlie Ireland, who is Clarkson's land agent - were pictured arriving at No10 today as the PM hosted a farming summit.
As part of a package of support for UK farmers - announced to coincide with the 'Farm to Fork' summit - Downing Street revealed plans to 'increase the resilience' of Britain's farming industry and 'support its growth'.
This includes proposals to 'cut the red tape currently holding farmers back from delivering projects on their land to diversify their incomes, such as repurposing farm buildings to use as shops', No10 added.
A consultation on the proposals will be launched later this year.
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